Rue's Hunger Games
by Mary Mahogony
Summary: Rue tells about the Hunger Games...as a live person in District 11
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Rue…" I'm so shocked by the words that I don't even hear my last name. Everyone else is surprised, too. No one is saying anything. They are all staring at me.

"NO!" My mother's shrieks break the silence like a pebble hitting the smooth surface of a lake. Her scream provokes my 5 other sisters, who also begin screaming.

"Ru-ue..." The reaper says my name tauntingly.

I'm too frozen to move. Every word she says seem to numb me more.

"Please make your way to the stage." She snaps her fingers at the Peacekeepers, who start moving towards me. That gets me out of the trance I was in. I take a slow step forward.

Before I know it, I'm on the stage, standing before Citrus Limen, the reaper.

"Does anyone volunteer as tribute?" Nothing. Absolute silence. Never before has quiet hurt so bad. Doesn't anyone care?

Citrus calls the boy tribute. It's Thresh. We know each other. Our families are good friends. We basically grew up together, except for the fact that he's much older than me.

We shake hands, then go into the Justice Building. I can't sit still. I pace back and forth, back and forth.

Suddenly, the door opens. It's my parents, along with my sisters. My mom just cries, that's no use.

But my dad, he holds me by the shoulders, and gives me some real support. "You can win, Rue. You know what you can eat, you can climb trees like a real monkey, and you are smart. You are so smart, Rue. You can do this. You can win! Win for me. Win for the girls—Ruth, Paisley, Casey, Winter, Maisey, Kell—win for them. Win for mom. You can do it. Use what you know. Just be _you,_ Rue. Try your best. We are proud of you, no matter what happens."

Then the Peacekeepers pull them away. They put their guns to the head of little Kell, who won't let go of my leg.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Author's note: as of 7-2-13 at 12:42 pm, Chapter one has been updated. Please reread if you have read chapter before this time.**

In a split second, my whole world changed. I went from one child of 7 to 1 of 6. From 6 sisters to 5. That's it. No more Kell. She was only 6.

After that, my best friend, Hunter, comes in. She only stays a few seconds, because she says she doesn't want to cry in front of me. She slips something into my hand…the star necklace. The star looks like the Star of David. She made it out of twigs when we were 4.

"So you'll always have a piece of me." Hunter had said. Then, she hugged me, and left.

After that we were taken to the train station. I've never been on a train before. It makes me nervous. We get on, and Citrus shows Thresh and I our rooms. I flop on my bed, and cry myself to sleep.

I wake up to a light knock on the door. "Ru-ue" Citrus says my name just as she did earlier today when I was…when I was… "time for dinner."

"Coming" I say.

I wipe my nose on my sleeve and spend a couple minutes in front of the mirror getting the crust on my eyes—that happens when you cry yourself to sleep—until I finally look presentable.

When I get to the dining car, Thresh is already there. When I sit down next to him, he squeezes my hand. That is reassurance enough. He doesn't have to give a whole speech like my dad to give me encouragement.

We feast on chicken with lemon sauce and rice with dried oranges in it. There is salad, too, but I'm too stuffed to eat another bite.

Too stuffed, that is, until an Avox brings out Cherry Pie. I eat two whole slices. When I'm done, I feel like about to puke.

I ask Citrus when the train is going to leave the station, and she laughs at me. "Ru-ue" She's saying my name like that again. "We already left." She is literally crying she's laughing so hard. Citrus is making me feel so stupid!

Thresh explains that we are going so fast you can't tell we are moving. He doesn't seem happy with Citrus either. Neither do Seeder and Chaff.

We all retire to our rooms for a good night's sleep. I'm sure Thresh got as much sleep in as I did. Let's just say every time I started to doze off I heard "Ru-ue"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I wake up early—well, it can't be waking up if you never slept—and take a long shower. It must have lasted at least one hour, and the water remained hot the whole time.

Breakfast is pancakes with blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries on top, with a side of pineapple sausage, turkey bacon, and honey glazed ham. They even had hot chocolate! I've never had it myself before, but I've heard about it. I watch Thresh dip his biscuit in the hot beverage, and it looks pretty good, so I try it myself.

The result is creamy, hot, sweetness. I wish everything tasted like this. It's so good. I continue dipping despite Citrus constantly saying "Gross" and "Never in my life,".

On the biscuit's last trip to the mug, everything gets darker. "What is that? Did the power go out?" Of course it didn't, dummy. The lights are still on. "What happened?"

"We are going through a tunnel." Seeder says, obviously bored.

I'm so embarrassed. Maybe I'm not as smart as dad thought…

We are at the train station. There are people waving and smiling and blowing kisses. I know I need to get people to like me so that I can get sponsors, so I quickly start waving and smiling back. I even blow a kiss or two.

In the Training Center, we go to floor 11—for District 11—on an elevator. I'm surprised to see there is a level 13 before the roof. But that can't be right. District 13 was destroyed a while ago. Why didn't they get rid of that floor? I question Citrus about it and she says it is all offices, but I can see in her eyes that she's lying.

We spend the day getting situated. Training starts tomorrow. At dinner, the topic I've been avoiding comes up.

"What is your talent?" Chaff and Seeder ask us. "Yes. Do tell." Citrus says. At least she didn't call me 'Ru-ue' again.

"I'm strong, and good with a spear."

Now it's my turn. "I can jump from tree to tree like I'm flying. I'm good with a slingshot, but that doesn't kill so…I guess I'm okay with a knife." The last sentence gives me chills. _Will I use the knife to kill? Will the arena change me that much? _I ask myself.

Chaff and Seeder seemed relieved by my last statement, though. They say that if all you do is hide, you won't win. Great.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Author's note: Please review! I'll write faster if you do! I'll continue updating…sorry if I take a long time, I need to do some research before I write each chapter. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I hope to get Rue in the Arena by Chapter 8, but I don't know. Keep reading!**

Today starts training. Chaff and Seeder said to stay away from what we are good at and do NOT draw attention to yourself. That's easy for me, but hard for Thresh. People will notice how big he is no matter what. They will most likely ignore me because I'm so young and petite. They shouldn't, but they do. That's their fault, though. I'm probably going to last longer than a lot of them. They'll never see me coming.

I go to camouflage and learn how to disguise myself. I'm not very good, but a boy, I think his name is Peeta, and a girl, her name is Katniss, come over. Peeta is really good at camouflaging. I overhear Katniss say it's because he decorates cakes all day.

Katniss stuck in my mind as a good person from when I watched the reaping tapes. She volunteered for her sister without a second thought. Maybe, in the arena…No. Then we would have to kill each other. No allies for me.

I follow the District 12 tributes anyway, though. I think Peeta spots me, and he whispers something about a 'shadow' to Katniss. I realize I should stop stalking them and practice some things I actually need to practice. In knife throwing, I'm not bad, but in the arena, all the knives will be inside the cornucopia, not where I can get them.

I'm bored, so I start jumping and climbing along the ropes near the ceiling. I notice Cato, one of the scarier tributes, put his knife down for a second. Now is my chance to have fun.

I swoop down from a rope, grab the knife, and climb back up. No one notices me, or so I thought. Cato turns around to get his knife, and looks _very_ surprised to find it gone. He starts yelling at another tribute, towering over him and looks like he's going to punch the guy. Man, this was worth it.

I see Katniss turn around to see what was happening, then she looked up at giggling me, holding a knife, and puts it all together. I see her smile. She smiled _at me_! Maybe Katniss could be a good alley. I'd have to wait and see, though. Maybe I don't need an alley.

Maybe I could get lucky. Maybe they'll all die trying to kill each other and I'll just watch from the trees. If there _are_ trees. If there are no trees, or things to climb, I'm dead meat. Literally.

We have dinner of clam soup, mashed potatoes with plum sauce, fried chicken, and salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Once again, I'm stuffed, but magically find room when chocolate pudding arrives.

I actually sleep a bit tonight, but not much. Maybe an hour.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremonies!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Author's note: sorry the opening ceremonies are so late! I completely forgot about them, and I don't want you to have to reread anything. Please comment! Tell me if it's ok that I put opening ceremonies now, or if you want me to change something! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.**

I'm sore from all the hair that has been removed from my body. My face stings from all the scrubbing they've done to it, and on top of that, a man I don't know is staring at my naked body. Worst day ever.

The man—whose name is Willow—now has dressed me (thank god) as a farmer in overalls (really?). District 11 isn't all farming, it's harvesting, sorting, irrigating and gardening. Why does everyone assume we all wear overalls. It's greatly offensive.

We get into our chariot, and wait. It seems like we are waiting forever, but before I know it, our chariot is moving. I glance at Thresh. He doesn't seem worried, but then again, Thresh doesn't show much emotion.

I start waving and blowing kisses, but soon, no one is watching me. I glance at the screens, and see District 12 is on _fire. _Quick, someone get a fire extinguisher. My maybe-ally is going to burn to death, along with Peeta!

But then I see their faces. They are happy, not at all worried. It hits me then that the fire is fake. Thank god! I didn't realize how much I was depending on having Katniss as an ally until I thought she was going to die!

All the chariots line up in a circle, but all eyes are on District 12. No one noticed me. I'm not going to get any sponsors. I'm going to _die!_ Why did Katniss do this to me? I know she feels bad for me. I hear her say things to Peeta about me being too young. Did Katniss automatically assume I am going to die by the cornucopia in the first minute? Did she count me out like everyone else? Like everyone else I'm going to prove wrong in a few days. In a few days…I'll be in the arena! Good god that is coming fast! I slowly realize I have been spending my oh-so-important training sessions playing games. Tomorrow is our private session when we get scored! I've run out of time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I just recently noticed that the chapter numbers appear automatically. Sorry for the redundancy.**

Today flew by. My training session went as well as it possibly could, but I am still upset; I only got a seven. No one really stuck out to me. No one got a 12/12.

We get a "good night's rest", and wake up early to prepare for our interviews. Willow's helpers put eye shadow, mascara, and a little eyeliner on. The eye shadow is my favorite color—royal blue. The helpers also put lipstick on that is the _exact_ color of my lips. One rubs cream on my face. When I look in the mirror, my skin looks flawless.

Then Willow comes in and puts my dress on. And what do you know? It's royal blue. The dress is puffed up on the shoulders and has flowers around the waist band. Besides the flowers, my whole dress is the same color, along with my eye shadow, and bows in my hair. I thought the goal was to make me look older. If you ask me, I look even younger.

Seeder then teaches me good, lady-like manors. I do fine, then I go on to Chaff. He gives me fake questions to get me an idea of what angle I want to play. We decide on young and innocent. That explains my dress.

District 1 is done. Now 2. 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. It's our turn. Lady's first, so I interview before Thresh. Ceaser Flickerman asks me a couple questions, then asks the final question for me.

"What is your strategy in the games?"

"I'm fast, and hard to find. A lot of people probably think I'm going to die in the first minute, but I won't. I'm quick, and if they can't catch me, they can't kill me."

Ceaser thinks a second then says "I wouldn't count you out in a million years."

I walk off stage and watch the remaining interviews. Nothing interesting happens.

**Author's note: I know I didn't include Peeta saying he loved Katniss but this is fanfiction, so im altering the story a bit. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	7. Chapter 7

** Author's note: I'm thinking about writing about the Hunger Games from Foxface's POV. Any comments? What should I do about her name? Make one up? Review, PLEASE!**

Glass separates me and Willow. And not a window, a tube. I realize this is the last time I may ever be anywhere outside the arena. I make a mental note not to think like that.

I am brought up into the arena. At first, I only see fields with tall grasses. I panic. I panic so much I almost step off my plate. If I did that, I would die instantly. I feel like that would let every down that believed I would survive longer than most.

I glance at the clock. 30 seconds. Oh, God. Oh, God. Please let there be trees! I turn carefully and see a forest. Thank God. I think I almost died there.

The buzzer sounds. Wow, those 30 seconds went fast.

I run as fast as my legs can carry me, towards the forest. I trip over a backpack, and fall. The girl, Clove, from District 2 is about to throw a knife at me, but someone runs by unknowingly and it sticks in their side instead. To this day, I don't know who saved my life and gave up theirs.

Clove pauses to grab another knife. I take it as my lucky break; I grab my backpack and run away. Clove doesn't bother chasing me. She has plenty of fresh meat back at the Cornucopia.

I bet my parents were really proud of me then.

From there I ran fast until I heard no more footsteps. I took a chance and climbed a tree. Actually getting up the tree would slow me down, but once I was up there, I would be faster than any other runner.

I was still hopping tree to tree when I heard soft footsteps. Not running ones, tiptoeing ones. It is the girl with red hair, from District 5.

I hop down right next to her. She looked startled, then smiled. "Do you want to be allies until 12 are gone?" She asks. It is a good deal. We won't have to kill each other in the end.

"And, promise not to kill me unless we are the only two left."

The girl nods. "I promise if you promise."

We shake on it.

"My name is Rue."

The girl frowns. "My parents never named me. Some people call me Fox. I heard the girl from 12 call me Foxface. That'll do."

I can only nod at this statement.

"This is dangerous. You should go back in the trees so we are harder to spot."

In response, I climb the tree next to me and hop to the next. Foxface starts to run quietly and stealthily. I, in turn, hop faster.

We reach water faster than I thought we would. I only notice now that she has no supplies. Unlike me; I have a backpack.

"I know how to make a water container." I tell her.

We spend the next hour or so wetting leaves, putting tree sap on them, and sticking them together. The result is a miss-shapen water container, but a water container no less.

She fills it with water and chugs it down. She fills it again and chugs it down. After this process repeats 4 or 5 times, Foxface fills up the water container and puts it next to her "for later".

Next, we make a small backpack out of bark and leaves. I use sap instead of sowing. She puts her water in there.

The last thing we do is gather food. I tell her not to eat anything until I make sure it is ok. I don't want my first ally to die.

We both return by the stream at sunset. All her food is safe, and of course, mine is too. We portion everything to make it last a week. Our first meal is a raw egg and bark. Yum?

As the sun goes down, we each pick somewhere to sleep. I sleep in a tree, Foxface, under a bush somewhere. I count all the tributes dead. 11. I hope one more person doesn't die…

A cannon. The 12th cannon. Signaling me and Foxface to part. I get out of the tree and look in her bush. She is gone.

I suddenly don't trust her. I gave her water, food, a backpack. And what did she give me? Nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

I spent the night in another tree, scared that Foxface would kill me despite her promise.

In the morning I checked her bush again and was surprised to see her backpack, full of water and food…and a note?

_Dear Rue, _

_I'm sorry I left. 12 dead went a lot faster than I thought it would. I was going to teach you some tricks to being sneaky today, but we are no longer allies. If we cross paths again, I promise to teach you._

_I couldn't keep the things you made and helped me get. I can make it in the games myself. If I die, win for me. I know if you die, I'll win for you. Good luck._

_ -Foxface_

I understand now. Foxface did not leave because she was going to, she left because things would get complicated in the morning. The note is just berry juice on a leaf, but it means the world to me. I put it in my jacket pocket and run away. Katniss will hopefully be a much better ally than Foxface.

I begin to get curious if there are any other supplies by the cornucopia. I tree hop until I reach the clearing with the lake, and wheat field to one side. All the supplies are stacked in a pyramid. The ground is dug up all around them. Something is wrong with that setup, but what?

Who do I see next but Foxface. She hops in a unique pattern, gets to the pile, grabs a small knife, and leaves. She runs directly below me.

"Psst. Foxface."

She looks up. "Hi Rue. Ready for some sneaky lessons?"

She tells me to watch, then goes in the same weird pattern to the food and supplies. She grabs a bag of apples and brings them back. "Here. Take one or two."

I take two apples and bite into one immediately. The other I put in my pack. Foxface then returns the apples. There's only one left.

She teaches me how to be light on my feet so that no one ever hears me. I learn how to be strategic and to never stay in the same spot. She says if I come here every other day, she'll give me some supplies so that we can both continue living. We are not allies. We are just helping each other.

We say goodbye because she hears footsteps coming. They are coming towards me. The only thing I can do is run to the wheat field for cover for now. Maybe I can see Thresh. I think I saw him run in there.

Quickly, just as Foxface showed me, I run to the field. Once in there, I see him. Thresh. He is laying on the ground taking cover.

"Rue?"

Thresh has barely been living because he is running out of food. He looks a lot thinner than he did in District 11.

I give him all of my food because I can always get a lot more. He can't in the wheat field.

Then we say goodbye, and I scurry back to the trees. I am hopping along trees when I hear a chase breaking out. Fox taught me how to hear things I've never even listened for.

I see a girl running from all the careers. Its Katniss! I hide myself within the tree and watch the action play out.

Katniss climbs the tree I am in. My tree! She doesn't see me yet but if she does, both of us will die. Quickly, while no one is watching, I climb down the opposite side of the tree trunk. Then I run up another tree and hide again.

It is only then that I notice the nest.


	9. Chapter 9

After failed attempts to kill or capture Katniss, the Careers eventually decide to wait because "it's not like she's going anywhere".

Once they are all asleep, Katniss straps herself to the tree inside a sleeping bag. "Psst." I whisper.

She turns and looks at me. Some of the Careers stir, so I decide to use motions. I point to the nest. She looks surprised to see it, then nods. My work here is done.

I tree hop away, then, since I know where all the careers are, I take a chance and walk on the ground. I am still walking when I spot a cave with a bunch of sharp rocks around it. I'm pretty sure there's someone in the cave, but I don't want to find out. Instead I sort through the rocks until I find the sharpest one, and put it in my pack. I pick a tree, and settle in. I can't believe it's only been two days. I also realize I didn't check the contents of my pack yet, except for the water skin.

The things in there—I am depressed to say—are socks, and two packs of berries and seeds. I check both packs, and find out one has Nightlock in it. That stuff will kill you in a second. I decide to keep it just in case I can trick someone into eating it. The other pack is safe, so I add it to my provisions.

The night gets cold soon, so I put the socks on my hands.

The Capital anthem plays and the deaths today are shown. Only one person died. And it wasn't really today, it was late last night. She was the 12th cannon that split me and Foxface. The girl from 8.

Now there'sonly 12 of us.

I wake early to check on Katniss and the nest. While I am tree hopping, I come up with a plan. Katniss can saw the branch to get the nest to attack the careers. They could all die!

I arrive, and Katniss is awake, too. I point to the nest, make a sawing motion, then I point down to the careers. Then I repeat the motion. She seems to finally understand. She starts sawing immediately. I go back a few trees and watch from a distance. I don't want to be stung.

After about 10 minutes, I see the branch finally snaps. All the careers scream and try to run. Some of them escape, with a few Tracker Jackers trailing behind, but I also hear 2 cannons. I see Katniss basically fall from the tree and figure that she must have gotten stung once or twice. I know a remedy to those stings, but it won't heal nearly as fast if she doesn't pull the stingers out.

I run up to the tree and peek from behind it. Katniss is pulling the bow and arrow from Glimmer, who is dead. She finally gets it free from the girl's grasp and runs. I can tell from the way she staggers that a couple bees got her.

I hear people running towards us. Katniss is running towards them! I run in front of her. "Katniss run! The careers are coming back! You heard me, run!" I actually have to spin her around so that she does what I say. She finally starts running away from the careers.

I follow her until she finally passes out, then guard her body for two days while changing the healing leaves. After all I've done, I hope she wants to be allys.


	10. Chapter 10

While I was taking care of Katniss, I didn't get a chance to see Foxface. I told her we would meet every other day. Yesterday was one, and I missed it.

Suddenly, Katniss starts stirring. Her expression shows a lot of pain. Maybe I need to replace the leaves?

Hey eyes open. I quickly duck behind a tree. I hope she didn't see me. I would be creeped out if I found out someone had been watching me sleep for two days.

"Rue?"

I tell her everything I know, who died and everything. "There's only ten left. Glimmer and the girl from 4 died from stings. That's how you got your bow and arrows."

"So how can we get rid of the careers?" Katniss asks me.

I think hard about this. Then I remember their supplies. "We can destroy their supplies. They have them all stacked up in the middle of the clearing. The ground is dug up all over the place over there." I tell her.

"Let's check it out."

I tree hop and Katniss runs. We get to the clearing. I show her the spot I've been hiding in. She scopes out the scene. Suddenly, a light bulb goes on in her head. I see it in her eyes.

"C'mon. Let's go back to camp."

The sun goes down.

We listen to the anthem and see that there were no deaths today. Katniss lets me get in her sleeping bag, too. I didn't realize how cold I was until I got in. I lean back on Katniss and fell my head touch her Mocking Jay pin. That's her token. Mine is the necklace from Hunter.

The Gamemakers don't play any tricks that night. I think they figured out what we are going to do.

At dawn, we wake up to a cannon. The boy from 10 flashes in the sky. Katniss looks over at me as if to say 'we better get a move on'.

Together, we set up 3 fires. Each one is set far away from the clearing to draw the careers away. They are set to smoke like crazy. We light the first one together, then I'm supposed to light the other two. But instead of doing that, I decide to warn Foxface first.

I listen carefully. I hear her tiny footsteps. "Foxface." I whisper. She comes toward me. Clove.


	11. Chapter 11

She is already drawing a knife.

"Oh, who new such a _little girl_ could last so far. I didn't. Well, I wasn't so wrong. You barely made it halfway."

I run as fast as I can. Clove does, too. I watch my feet. Maybe this is a trap. Why didn't she kill me already? I see a trip-wire ahead I jump slightly over it, but Clove doesn't . She trips the wire and is captured in a giant net. She tries to throw the knife at me, but it lands at my feet. I pick it up, and throw with all my might.

_Boom_

My first kill. I hope my sisters didn't see that.

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELI NE

After that, Foxface can wait. I light the 2nd fire, then see yet another trap. I am careful to avoid it, but another career (Marvel, I think) comes after me . I pull the same trick I did on Clove, and he gets captured, too. I don't kill him, though. The knife comes from somewhere else. I take that as a sign to run.

_Boom_

I am so thown off by the traps that I have no idea where the other fire is. I decide to just find Katniss and tell her what happened. I use our signal, the 4 notes that the mocking jays repeat and get no response. It echoes, but I never hear a new pattern set by someone else. I am heading towards the clearing when—

_Do, do, do, dooo._

And that is why I didn't see the 3rd trap at my feet. And that is why I was captured. And that is why I am screaming for Katniss while a spear is being pointed at me.

_Boom_

**Author's note: keep reading! I'm not quite finished yet…and neither is Rue...**


	12. Chapter 12

There are only 6 of us left now. The thought hits me like a ton of bricks. It's me, Katniss, Thresh, Foxface, Peeta, and Cato. Wow. If Peeta and Cato died I would feel betrayed if someone killed me…I would be betraying if I killed them.

Last night, I told Katniss about my sisters and how the Peacekeepers killed little Kell. Katniss was really mad about that. "She was a little girl. She was just saying goodbye! They didn't even _try_ to pull her away? Just shot her?"

She said that if we are the only two left, she'll let me win so that I can go home and take care of them.

Today Katniss goes around to all her traps. Of course, she takes me with her, after her promise to never leave me alone in the arena…

which gets me thinking. By dying, and letting me win, she is breaking her promise. Is it possible for two people to come out alive?

We are feasting on a bird now. I think it's a Grossling. We eat them all the time back in 11. I am just finishing my piece when I realize it's a leg. I've never had a whole leg to myself before. I tell Katniss this, and she gives me hers. I deny it, but she says I've lost a lot of weight and might die if I don't eat more. That gets me eating. The meat combined with my portions for the day, I am full for the first time in the arena.

The sun is setting, and we are just settling into the tree when I hear a cannon. Peeta's face is in the sky. Katniss puts a hand over her mouth and begins crying. I just hug her and tell her that if he hadn't died now, we would have to kill him. But the whole time I'm wondering why she cares so much.

Early in the morning I hear footsteps. They are chasing something. I tell Katniss what I hear. We both climb farther up the tree so no one can see us.

About a minute later Foxface runs under the tree. She is being chased by Cato. I lose my balance, seeing Foxface about to die, and nearly fall out of the tree. Cato sees us. He begins climbing. When I got dizzy, I actually did fall down a couple branches. Now I am on the stronger arms where Cato can get me. He is only about a foot away. I am frozen. I can't move. All I do is study his large figure. For a second, I am relieved, because he has no weapons. But then I remember Katniss telling me that he can snap someone's neck easily.

I close my eyes, sure that I will die, and wait for heaven. I hear a cannon. That can't be right. I am not dead yet. I open my eyes. Cato is hanging halfway over the branch next to mine. There is an arrow in his heart.

Katniss climbs down to me and removes the arrow from Cato. She is running out of them. That is the second arrow she shot to save my life.

I tell Katniss about my relationships with Thresh and Fox. I tell her how now I will have to kill them, or they will have to kill me.

We both jump from the tree and begin looking for food. I take out the bag with berries in it. Not the one with Nightlock. We are still searching for food when I hear a cannon. God, I am getting sick of that sound.

I look to the sky and see Foxface. How…?

We are both puzzled. Since there is no sign of her here, she must be with Thresh. Would Thresh really…?

I am shaken, so Katniss puts her arm around me and leads me to a tree. It is there, that we see her body. She has a bag of berries and seed in her hand. _My_ bag of berries and seeds. That bag must have been the one with Nightlock in it. It must have gotten stuck to the other. I must have accidently pulled it out. It must have blown with the wind to where Foxface was hiding. She must have assumed it was safe because it was mine. She _trusted me._ She trusted me and I _killed her._

We are just settling in when there is an announcement. "Two females from different districts, or male and female from the same district may win. No other combinations are legal, except, of course, one victor. Thank you."

They are making me choose between those I know and love, or those who saved my life.


	13. Chapter 13

Katniss and I don't sleep that night. We go to the cornucopia to see if any supplies were not destroyed. I find a knife. Always handy. Katniss and I are alone, so we begin to play around.

"I bet you can't hit that pot with your slingshot." She says.

I get a rock from my bag. I miss the pot by a mile. I try again. I grab a rock, aim for the pot, and fire away. This time I'm not far off. I reach in my bag for another rock. _Wow. Sharp rock _I think. Then, just as I am a letting go, the pot moves. I sits up. _Thresh?_ He is bleeding on his face and pretty much everywhere. I feel like everything is in slow motion. He sees the sharp rock, and me, and looks _so_ betrayed. I watch as the stone goes directly into his heart.

_Boom_

If he hadn't moved, I would have missed.


	14. Chapter 14

I put new clothes that I found in the rubble on Thresh so that you can't see his wounds. We dry up the blood that is all over him. When we are done, something is missing. I put the knife I found in his hand. We put the other arm up like he is saluting.

_Please forgive me, mom. Please forgive me, dad. Please forgive me, Thresh's parents. Please, I didn't mean to. Please._

His body is taken. The knife falls from his hand. That does it. I begin crying. He couldn't even be taken with a weapon. I don't want it. I throw the knife as hard as I can.

I look up. Katniss starts crying. She points up at the sky. All I hear is "revoked". No! NO! We both can't win! They did this so that we would have to battle! I hate the capitol! I won't kill Katniss. She saved my life. Then, I remember her saying "I'll let you win of it's just you and me". And then I watch in horror as Katniss throws herself in front of the knife.

"I love you." Are the last words she says. She's only alive long enough to hear me say "I love you, too."

This isn't fair! She saved me 2 times, and now I killed her? What is wrong with me? I'm a devil! I've been possessed! I did exactly what the capitol wanted! WHY?


	15. Chapter 15

Many weeks later…

I haven't seen Citrus or Chaff or Seeder for a long time. I am put on the train today to go home. Then, I'll have to do my victory tour. I hate my life.

When they see me, I can see on their faces that they are all surprised that it is me walking in, not Thresh. They all congratulate me. I nod, then go to my room. After a couple minutes there is a knock on the door. "Yes?"

It's Seeder. She talks to me a while. She says she had trouble when she came home, too. "You just gotta move on. You didn't mean to kill anyone except Clove, but only because she was attacking you. That was self-defense. And Thresh was attacked by a snake. He was in misery. You put him in a better place. And Katniss did that to herself. So did the red-head. You can't take credit for other people's actions." I ask her to write that down on paper so that I can read it every morning. I made me feel a lot better.

And then I remembered Foxface's note. I pull it out of my jacket and show Seeder. She tells me to keep it. I shake my head. She takes it and puts it under my pillow. "So you can dream of her."

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELI NELINELINELINELINE

Today I came home again. I hugged all my sisters. My mother told me that she had been depressed. She had lost Kell, and she thought she was going to lose me. But she didn't. I was tough and smart and I made it.

Now I don't have to go through any more reapings. Just one and done. Then it's lucky to be reaped when you are 12, as long as you make it out alive. My family should just start calling me Lucky. I survived the Hunger Games out of luck.

And that is why, to this day, my sisters call my Luxy-Rue.

**The End**


End file.
